1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sweetener composition which is a codried composition consisting essentially of saccharin and a protein selected from the group consisting of thaumatin, monellin and mixtures thereof. The sweetener is especially designed for use in comestible compositions which require prolonged release of sweetness values in the oral cavity of the user thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thaumatin, or talin, is a proteinaceous material obtained from the fruit of Thaumatococcus danielli. Monellin is another proteinaceous material, and it is obtained from the fruit of Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii. (Serendipity Berry) (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4011206; 4300576; 4412984; 4562076).
Thaumatin and monellin, as well as acid saccharin, have been proposed for use as sweetening agents in various types of comestibles including chewing gum. See in this regard, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4096285; 4122205; 4228198; 4292336; 4300576; 4412984 and 4562076.
When each of these sweetener materials is used alone in the core of a comestible such as chewing gum at the levels of use for such materials which have been disclosed by the prior art, i.e., about 100 to 300 ppm, or about 0.01 to 0.03%, in the case of thaumatin; about 250 to 750 ppm, or about 0.25 to 0.75%, in the case of mohellin; and about 1000 to 5000 ppm, or about 0.1 to 0.5%, in the case of acid saccharin, they tend to provide undesirable lingering aftertastes in the mouths of the user thereof. A sweet aftertaste in the case of thaumatin and monellin, and a bitter aftertaste in the case of acid sweetener.
It has also been proposed to use the protein and saccharin together, as sweeteners, in comestible such as chewing gum, either individually or when combined with a carrier. In all of such cases, however, the protein is used at a relatively high level, with respect to the amount of saccharin used. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4096285 and 4122205, for example, disclose the use of thaumatin and/or monellin and saccharin in a 1-4:5-20 weight ratio. The compositions of these patents also require the use of a sweetness or taste modifier with the thaumatin and saccharin to reduce or eliminate any aftertaste associated with the sweetening agents. The compositions of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4096285 and 4122205 may also be spray dried on a carrier such as maltodextrin.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4228198 and 4292336 disclose the use of codried admixtures of thaumatin and/or monellin with saccharin and a carrier such as arabino-galactan or gelatin. In such compositions the thaumatin and/or monellin and saccharin are used at weight ratios to each other of about 1-4:10. The arabinogalactan of U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,198 is used, in part, to minimize sweetness duration and aftertaste. The gelatin of U.S. Pat. No. 4292336 is used to promote the heat stability of peptide sweeteners such as monellin and thaumatin.
Thus, the use of the relatively high amounts of these proteins and/or saccharin provide undesirable aftertaste problems and require that, in order to avoid such problems, such sweeteners, heretofore, when used together have usually had to be used with sweetness modifying compounds of one type or another, and at relatively high ratios of the protein to the saccharin.
Thus, prior to the present invention it has not been possible to effectively use these proteins together with acid saccharin at a low weight ratio of the protein to the acid saccharin and without the need for any additional sweetness modifying compound and/or carrier therefor.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a means for employing the proteins thaumatin and monellin and mixtures thereof at relatively low levels of usage with acid saccharin while still obtaining relatively prolonged flavor release therefor, and avoidance of any undesirable aftertaste therefrom.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a means for employing acid saccharin and/or soluble forms of saccharin, such as the sodium, calcium or potassium salts thereof, and mixtures thereof with thaumatin and monellin and mixtures thereof, without encountering aftertaste problems normally associated with the use of saccharin.
Another object of the present invention is to provide for a means for employing these, protein sweetness in comestibles such as chewing gum where the proteins do not lose their aftertaste masking characteristic and their sweetness even though they are incorporated in the chewing gum.